


Marble Skies

by eruthiel



Category: Floptales (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24226837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eruthiel/pseuds/eruthiel
Summary: "So," she says, punctuating the sentence with a superbly casual drag on her cigarette. "Where have you been for the past six months?"
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Marble Skies

Tayana closes the cloakroom door and leans back against it, lighting a cigarette. She watches her brother as he roots through other people's coats for his gigantic suitcase. When he finds it, he drags it out into the middle of the room.

"You're really still hauling that thing around with you."

"As long as you're really still showing up to the same parties as me, wearing the same colours as me." He snaps the clasps open and throws up the lid, revealing a pile of suits. "Then yes, I'm still bringing emergency alternatives."

"I don't do it on purpose, Tanzer. It must be just one of those weird psychic twin things, you know?"

Tanzer just rolls his eyes as he shrugs off his purple jacket. "Fortunately these trousers go with just about anything. Let's see." He hunkers down beside the case, unknotting his tie while he thinks out loud. "Yellow is out, that would just look like we're doing it on purpose. Maybe a green, though? Yeah, a nice dark green ought to do it. I'm sure there's a tie in here somewhere that won't make me look entirely like I got dressed in the dark…"

Tayana toys with the fringe on her purple dress. "Why do you care if we're matching?"

"Because people will think it's creepy! Or worse, they'll think it's cute. We look too much alike already. I wish you'd grow your hair out."

"Why don't you? You're the one who's bothered by it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tayana. And don't act like you're so above it all, either. We both know you care what they think just as much as I do."

Tanzer strips off his purple waistcoat, folds it up neatly, and puts on a green one in its place. He expertly selects a new tie and Tayana can't help giving a tiny nod of approval; as ridiculous as he is, he's probably the only man she knows who's any good at this kind of thing.

She watches quietly while he does up the buttons. Finally, she gives in. "So," she says, punctuating the sentence with a superbly casual drag on her cigarette. "Where have you been for the past six months?"

"Why? You didn't  _ miss _ me, did you?"

"Of course not. I just want to know where you've been off damaging our reputation this time."

Tanzer gives an odd, sharp bark of laughter. "Nowhere that matters, believe me."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I've been around, alright? Jeez." He tugs on the first sleeve of the green jacket. The second one gets tangled and he swears at it as he tries to free himself.

Tayana blows a slow cloud of smoke at him. "You were off getting into trouble with those delightful friends of yours," she concludes. He's too busy fighting with his jacket to confirm or deny it, but she knows she's right. "Did you have  _ fun  _ this time? Solve any charming mysteries? Expose any scandals?"

"I can't really talk about it."

"With your own sister? You trust those two scum-crusted gutter fucks, but you don't trust me?"

By now he's got his jacket back under control. He smooths it down, then runs a hand over his hair to settle any imaginary imperfections. "It's not that I don't trust you," he says. "I just wouldn't know what to say." He slams his gigantic suitcase shut, then tosses it lightly back in with the coats and handbags.

Tayana purses her lips. "You shouldn't be lifting that thing like a matchbook," she warns. "It looks too heavy for that. People will get suspicious."

Tanzer rolls his eyes again. "And there it is. Now who's the vain one?"

"For god's sake, it's not vanity, it's just common sense. I want you to be a little less reckless for once in your life, or else someone's going to find us out."

"I wish they would. I've spent twenty years catering to their pathetic little superiority complexes, and I'm sick of it." 

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I can't help being objectively better than everyone else. Let the humans find out, let them cry about it. I don't care anymore."

"Humans?" She gapes at him.  _ "Humans?" _

"Humans," he snaps, "y'know, Earthlings? Descended from apes? Red blood, physically puny, limited colour vision?"

"Stop it," she hisses. "You're making it sound like we're not -- not --"

"We're not! You know we're not!" He throws up his hands. "Why are you pretending, even to me? We both know it isn't true. What are you so frightened of?"

"I'm not frightened, I'm just…" Her throat tightens. "I care for your dignity, as well as mine."

"Dignity? Where's the dignity in living a lie? Come to that, what's so dignified about being human?" His voice is getting dangerously loud now. "We're better than them, but we hide it. We carry the shame. Who does that benefit?"

She shakes her head and brings her cigarette to her mouth with trembling fingers. "Where is this coming from, Tanzer? Who have you been talking to?"

"I just got the chance to stop pretending for a little while, that's all. It made me realise how stupid all this really is."

Suddenly there are footsteps in the corridor outside. Tayana steps away from the door, forces herself to look relaxed in case another guest comes into the cloakroom.

Her brother stiffens, then his eyes start glowing red. She swallows a shriek of alarm and rushes across the cloakroom to grab him by the shoulders. "What the fuck are you doing?" she hisses. "Stop it! Tanzer, stop it, please!"

He doesn't stop it. "It's okay," he tells her, as the footsteps start to retreat in the other direction. "It's okay, they're gone. They didn't hear anything."

"That's not the point! Stop it right now!" She half-heartedly bounces a fist off his broad chest. "Do you want someone to see? Do you want us to be ruined? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," he says, red eyes boring into her. "There's nothing wrong with us. We deserve to be proud. The Antarians are gods. They've got an empire, out there in space."

"This isn't space," she snarls. "This is Earth, and nobody on Earth will fucking care what cool guys our ancestors are, alright? All they'll see is a couple of half-breed freaks!"

The glow fades from his eyes as they slowly start turning brown again. She watches his pupils refocus on her face as he stops seeing the bright blobs of her heat centres.

He pulls away from her and makes for the door. She holds him back with a hand on his elbow. "Tanzer," she says, "you haven't told anyone. Have you?" He avoids her gaze, which is answer enough. "Oh my god," she says, "your friends."

"They got it out of me," he mutters.

"What did they say?"

"They were fine about it. They don't care. They've got their own shit going on."

"Anyone else?"

"Nobody. Nobody important. Nobody who's ever going to tell anyone."

"What does  _ that _ mean?"

He pulls his arm out of her grip and strides out through the door, slamming it behind him.

She sighs deeply and drags hard on the cigarette, but it's gone out.


End file.
